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Trip
to Columbus
Local TEA shows
support for SB5
By Al Bliss
February 17, 2011
The Sidney Liberty Group has two very active people that are making
things happen -- the corresponding secretary, H.R. Pence and president,
Dr. Joe Lisanti. They initiated a rush effort to have people from all
adjacent counties join them in a chartered bus to try to directly
counteract some of the well organized union pressure (while being paid)
on Senators in opposition to Senate Bill 5 and as needed
Representatives in Columbus. This Bill submitted by Senator Jones from
Springboro radically changes collective bargaining rights of unions for
teachers, policeman, fireman and in general state government employees
that are members of SEIU.
Many of the Darke T.E.A. Patriots wanted to go but could not afford to
take time off from work. The first notice of this trip was on Thursday,
February 12, 2011. The Bus had Tea Party, Liberty Groups and Tea
Patriots from Miami County, Darke County, Mercer County, Shelby County
and one more up North that I cannot remember. The cost quoted ahead of
time was $20. But because some did not show up, we all pitched in $24.
The consensus at the end of the trip is that we made a difference.
The days started at 5:45 with the stalwarts assembling for the trip to
Troy to catch the charter bus to Columbus. All the folks in the
parking lot apparently had a red shirt, sweater or jacket as instructed
by the trip organizer from Sidney, H.R. Pence. Checking everyone on the
bus revealed three individuals without red which was corrected shortly
after arriving in Columbus.
Our arrival in Columbus was eventful in that our bus driver tried to
park the bus in his usual place on State St. but was instructed to
immediately move. He drove the bus around the corner to the
middle of the block on High Street in front of the Capitol and was also
immediately given a ticket by the same patrolman on a three wheeled
cycle. The ticket cost $50.00 which we all chipped in to make sure the
money did not come out of the driver’s pocket.
The first glance at the general area of the Capitol Building was quite
exciting because between the building and the bus was a fairly large
crowd of people all in red. I was surprised to find out when
approaching this crowd and entering the building that the opposition to
Senate Bill 5 was also in RED.The Atrium and Rotunda were filled with
virtually all RED shirts and occasionally fireman in blue with green SB
5 NO stickers. These stickers will be mentioned later.
The original appointment with Senator Bill Beagle was scheduled for
8:30 but we were a little late. Senator Beagle was headed for a 9:00
Ways and Means and Economic Development Committee meeting and offered
to guide us there if we wanted to attend. We arrived as Senator Jason
Wilson from District 30 was completing his presentation. Subsequently
Eric Kearney District 9 made presentations on a series of Senate Bills
primarily to justify approval by the Ways and Means Committee. Finally
a Mr. Church from the Ohio Department of Taxation presented information
regarding Senate Bill 7. Mr. Church presented a handout that coincided
will with his presentation. One fact presented seemed significant but
was presented and tolerated passively by Mr. Church and the Committee.
The fact that the revised Federal Income Tax revisions passed in late
December 2010 would have in MILLIONS a “Total Ohio estimated
revenue impact- All Funds FY 2011 $15.2 FY 2012
$24.7 FY 2013 $11.6 FY 2011-2013 $51.5.
Although immediately after the Ways and Means and Economic Development
Committee meeting a One Day Ohio Legislature Correspondence Association
Pass was granted to enable attendance at the Senate Bill 5 discussion.
In spite of the Pass, access was prevented by Capitol Security so
listening to the Audio Presentation of the Meeting in the Atrium, the
Rotunda and on the West Lawn and steps occupied the balance of the day.
The time spent in the Atrium and the Rotunda was brief at best. The
density of the people, the noise in response to discussion comments was
frequently deafening. As described by a fellow bus passenger, an
individual also leaning on the North wall of the Rotunda was so loud
almost constantly that he was asked show a little restraint. His
response was accompanied by some select expletives and a suggestion to
leave if you don’t like it.
An observation was made that advocates of Senate Bill 5 were
overwhelmed by the opponents in the Rotunda by about 1 for to 70
against. This observation was accompanied by the guess that the folks
opposing the bill could either take a sick day or would have the day
off anyway. Although the hearing was still in progress at 3:15 P.M.,
the great majority of the opponents were no longer in or around the
Capitol Building. By 4:00, when our bus left, almost everyone had left.
Until approximately 1:45 P.M. the difficulty in hearing clearly
prevented adequate assessment of the presentations. The presentation by
Dr. Kelly Kohls was an exception. Every word was focused on the subject
of her presentation and clearly presented with substantial value. The
responses to the questions were based on apparent depth of knowledge in
spite of the tone of some of the questions.
Feb 17 001A later presentation by a lawyer that has represented union
in labor negotiations for many years was very long and although many
valid points were presented in support of collective bargaining, the
lawyer consistently presented information that seemed to be special
because it was blessed by his wisdom (my opinion).
A picture of a statue of Christopher Columbus located on the southwest
corner of the capitol is included for your information. If you look
closely, you will see a union green SB 5 NO sticker on the right chest
of the statue. The array of statues on the northwest corner are
all marked with this green sticker. The climbing skill and agility to
place the stickers where they are on the statues is acknowledged.
Though this defacing of public property is kinda cute but
immature, who is going to pay for the removal effort??
If the information is correct, there must be at least one more
committee hearing and a committee recommendation prior to tendering to
the full Senate for a vote -- possibly within the next two weeks.
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